Topic Contents

Cervical Spinal Fusion

Surgery Overview

Cervical spinal fusion (arthrodesis) is
a surgery that joins selected bones in the neck (cervical spine). There
are different methods of doing a cervical spinal fusion:

Bone can be taken from elsewhere in your body
or obtained from a bone bank (a bone graft). The bone is used to make a bridge
between
vertebrae that are next to each other (adjacent). This
bone graft stimulates the growth of new bone. Man-made (artificial)
fusion materials may also be used.

Metal implants can be
used to hold the vertebrae together until new bone grows between
them.

Metal plates can be screwed into the bone, joining adjacent
vertebrae.

How Well It Works

Often spinal fusion is needed to keep the spine stable after injury, infection, or a tumor.

When symptoms such as numbness or weakness in the arm suggest that a neck problem is causing a pinched nerve (radiculopathy), surgery may help you feel better faster. But it's not clear that surgery is any better than nonsurgical treatment in the long run. And research also suggests that a complex surgery that includes fusion is not better than a simpler surgery to take the pressure off the nerve.footnote 1

If you have neck pain alone, with no signs of a pinched nerve, neck surgery will not help.footnote 1

Risks

Although cervical spinal fusion stiffens part of the neck, this
does not reduce neck flexibility for most people.

Surgery and the use of anesthesia involve some risk. The risks
associated with this procedure vary depending on your age and overall health,
diagnosis, and type of procedure used. Risks include:

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